5 Things - Flames vs. Canucks

1. NYE Special

With more than 19,000 rowdy partygoers on hand, it promises to be one heck of a New Year’s bash!

Needless to say, the Scotiabank Saddledome is THE place to be as we close the book on 2024.

“Oh, you can feel it in the building,” Head Coach Ryan Huska said of the looming hullaballoo. “It's one of those nights where I think people are wound up all day long and there's an excitement in the air. And it's a fun game for guys to play, for sure.

“There will be energy (tonight). I think it make it even more of a rambunctious building, probably, as well because it's Vancouver in town and we would consider them one of our bigger rivals.”

While it officially falls on a Tuesday (*Scratchy* Tuesday, no less!), this holiday fixture promises to bring a swath of excitement down to the ‘Dome for a 7 p.m. puck drop, followed by a postgame party in the Telus Club and Dutton’s Original 16 Lounge, featuring a DJ, live music, and all kinds of good vibes until 2 a.m.

On the ice, meanwhile, the Flames are looking to bounce back from a 3-0 road loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, while at the same time, re-assert their dominance on home ice, where they’ve strung together an impressive, 12-4-3 record this year.

For the Flames, there was little to hang their heads about following a quick, two-day trip through San Jose and Sin City, where they earned two of a possible four points and toe-to-toe with the NHL’s top dog.

In the opener, Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri led the way offensively, while Dustin Wolf handed his hometown team a 3-1 defeat – before the well ran dry in one of the NHL’s toughest road barns, despite Dan Vladar’s best effort the very next night.

Now, the Flames will look to turn their fortunes around in the first of a three-game homestand, before heading back on tour and playing six of their next seven away from home as they look to climb back into a playoff spot.

“These games are critical,” Wolf said of the six-week sprint between now and the 4 Nations Face-off in February. “For sure it's going to be a tough stretch, but we've got to make sure we're taking care of ourselves away from the rink and making sure we're coming to the rink ready to play. This stretch is probably going to determine our fate in the playoffs and I think everybody wants to come to the rink ready to go each and every night, and that starts with (tonight).

“The new year is coming, so you want to ring in the new year with a bang.”

2. Know Your Enemy

No Pettersson.

No Hughes.

No … problem?

As a planeload of Canucks made the 90-minute crawl across the Rockies Monday, they did so without two of their best players.

And it’ll stay that way for some time, it appears.

“They're not going to make the trip,” Head Coach Rick Tocchet told reporters back in Vancouver. “Petey is probably a week away, give or take a day here or there. And Quinn's probably week to week.”

Neither is easily replaceable, with the gun-slinging Pettersson coming off a two-goal outing before Christmas to put him second in team scoring with 28 points (10G, 18A) in 34 skates.

However, in Hughes, there might not be a player more valuable to his team in the entire league:

The reigning Norris Trophy winner has been playing out of his mind this year, leading the Canucks with 42 points (8G, 34A), while averaging 25:08 per game in ice time and dominating the possession game.

Certainly, the 17-10-8 Canucks will be in tough without their all-star captain, but with losses in four of their last five games (1-1-3) and only one point separating them from the Flames in the Pacific standings, they’ll have to figure it out quick.

And with or without Hughes in the rotation, bouncing back from what Jake DeBrusk called a “devastating” loss to the Seattle Kraken this past Saturday is all the remaining 20 players are concerned about.

The Canucks became only the third team in NHL history to lose a game by blowing a three-goal lead in the final five minutes of regulation time – gassing a 4-1 advantage to drop a 5-4 decision, thanks to Vince Dunn’s electric OT winner.

“We’ve got to play a tough Calgary game,” Tocchet said. “There's no crying (over) your spilt milk right now. You know, there's mistakes being made; let's not make them again. That's really what it comes down to.

“Eliminate those mistakes.”

3. Fast Facts

Century Club

Sophomore forwards Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil are both slated to skate in their 100th NHL game tonight. Both Zary and Pospisil scored their first-career goals in their NHL debuts last season (Zary: Nov. 1 vs. DAL, Pospisil Nov. 4 at SEA). In 99 career outings, Zary has tallied 22 goals and 54 points, while Pospisil has 10 goals and 35 points. Zary is looking to become the 44th Kamloops Blazers alumni to reach at least 100 NHL games, and Pospisil has a chance to become the fifth-active Slovak-born skater in the NHL to reach the milestone.

Brayden Pachal – who signed a two-year extension with the club back on Dec. 17 – is currently at 98 career skates and should reach the 100-game plateau on Thursday when the Flames host the Utah Hockey Club in the second of a three-game homestand.

Hungry Like The Wolf

Dustin Wolf turned aside 21 of the 22 shots he faced on Saturday night in San Jose to earn his 19th career win. Wolf has tied Collin Delia for the second-most victories by a California-born goaltender in NHL history, with Canucks puck-stopper Thatcher Demko (118) leading the pack. The 23-year-old also earned his 11th victory of the season to extend his league lead for the most wins among rookie goaltenders.

4. Lineup Notes

Here’s how the Flames lined up in Vegas, with leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau entering the night on a three-game goal streak.

Forwards

Jonathan Huberdeau - Nazem Kadri - Martin Pospisil
Blake Coleman - Mikael Backlund - Matt Coronato
Jakob Pelletier - Connor Zary - Yegor Sharangovich
Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Rooney - Andrei Kuzmenko

Defence

Kevin Bahl - Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar - Daniil Miromanov
Jake Bean - Brayden Pachal

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar
Dustin Wolf

Andrei Kuzmenko and Daniil Miromanov both drew into the lineup after sitting the previous five games.

5. Players to Watch

Flames - Martin Pospisil

While Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau have been busy filling the net, Pospisil has been quietly going about his business on Calgary’s top trio.

‘Quiet,’ as in plays like this:

With a bitter division rival in town tonight – and the intensity cranked up to 11 – it’s that type of effort that will open up space for his linemates, wear the opponent down, and get a rise out of the sold-out Saddledome crowd.

Pospisil was made for nights like these.

Canucks - Kiefer Sherwood

Good thing the glass has plenty of give these days.

In less than half a season with his new team, Kiefer Sherwood is on track to ‘smash’ the single-season hits record, currently held by his former Nashville Predators teammate, Jeremy Lauzon.

Sherwood leads the NHL with a staggering 205 hits already this season – 62 more than second-place Mark Kastelic – and could top 480 if he plays all 82 games this year.

Lauzon’s 383 were a 10-year high when he did it last season.

That Sherwood could not only break that record so soon – and by so much – says a lot about how the 194-lb. honey badger has endeared himself to his new fanbase, while at the same time, finding a new gear offensively.

In 35 games this season, the 29-year-old has 12 goals (a career high) and 19 points.

The Flames will have to keep their heads on a swivel tonight.

In more ways than one.